such a degree, that, were it not for a somewhat powerful attachment to her friends, she would, I think, but seldom be induced to remain long in a place.

When, therefore, these cases occurred to my recollection, I was of course not long ere making an examination of the heads; feeling that two facts of this decisive character should do much towards annulling or confirming my previously conceived opinion. And on manipulating the heads I found, as I had anticipated, in the former lady the upper part of the organ very moderately developed indeed, while the lower is exceedingly prominent; and in the latter, though the organs are certainly not so strikingly marked as in the other instance, the reverse of this is the case.

Thinking, however, that as I had gone into the field with, perhaps, some little desire to establish certain views, and that therefore my judgment relative to the size of the organs might not be so strictly impartial as I could wish, I resolved that, whenever an opportunity might occur, I would have the opinion of some other phrenologist, unacquainted with the real characters of the ladies, on the subject. Accordingly (Mr. Rumball having been in this place recently, lecturing on phrenology,) I took the former of the two ladies to him, and requested a register of her development (the same plan should also have been adopted with the other lady, had not her absence from home rendered it impossible); which, from a principle of justice to Mr. Rumball, I must admit was exceedingly correct in every particular, and is, in itself, a standing monument of the general truth of phrenology. In this register I was also no less surprised than pleased, to find Mr. Rumball making the following remark, which so well accords, both with my own phrenological views and the real character of the lady:—“ Inhabitiveness is well marked, Concentrativeness is not; you will love your home, but cannot so fix your mind as your body." And on subsequent conversation with Mr. Rumball I find that he (though quite unacquainted with the fact that Vimont had made a similar division before) has, for a considerable length of time, regarded the space marked "No. 3." on the busts as in reality two organs; and, like myself, has attributed the function of Inhabitiveness to the lower, and Concentrativeness to the upper of these.*

While writing on this subject I may also observe further, that within the last few days I have had some conversation with a physician in this place (a decided believer in phre

The idea of two organs in the portion of brain under question, has been repeated in most works on phrenology, since the publication of Vimont's, whose own ideas were given at length in our tenth volume. Editor.

nology) who has also consulted Mr. Rumball; and says that "in no respect is Mr. R.'s register more correct, nor the truth of phrenology more decidedly confirmed, than in his (Mr. R.'s) remarks on Concentrativeness," the deficiency of which, the doctor himself admits, to be a prominent feature in his character. In this, as in the other cases, it must be borne in mind, that the register was given on the hypothesis (if such it be) of the upper of the two organs being Concentrativeness, and the lower Inhabitiveness.

Having now stated these three cases, which I should wish to be taken for just what they are worth, I here leave the subject, in the hope that this short communication will at least be the means of stimulating my fellow-labourers in the field of phrenology to a more extended and diligent investigation of facts (rather than mere reasonings) relating to this (at present) debateable part of our science.

III. Concentrativeness of the French. By Mr. W. HANCOCK, Junior.

PROBABLY the most striking difference in the English and French character, is the constancy of the one and the inconstancy of the other. The love of change in the French, and if I may so call it, the love of continuance in the English.

I have long believed, from reasons and observations which are stated more at length in the 57th No. of the Journal, that the function of the organ of Concentrativeness is a love of sameness, or fondness for continuing in the same pursuits, and that its manifestation is better expressed by our word constancy than by any other one word in the language. Just as I had settled into the conviction, from repeated observations, that my ideas on this organ were nearly about correct, I was somewhat startled to meet with a remark from Mr. Combe, to the effect that in his observations of the French, he had found concentrativeness large, whereas the French are the very people among whom I had expected it to be deficient. A short time. ago I spent a fortnight in France, between the towns of St. Malo and Nantes, and my especial observation was naturally directed to this organ; and though it ill becomes me to mention an opinion contrary to Mr. Combe's, I cannot but declare that the organ No. 3. is decidedly small in the inhabitants of this

part of France. It may not be the case in all the departments, as tribes differing so much in character as the Gauls, in the days of Cæsar, are doubtless not yet completely amalgamated.

upon

At a table d'hôte, or a theatre, the straight line of heads enables one to make many observations on this organ almost at a glance, and seldom or never did I find an instance of its approaching the size which is common in England. On one occasion, at a theatre, I had singled out a surprising concentrativeness for a Frenchman, at some distance from me; but the owner of it turning his head, he proved to be an Englishman with whom I happened to be acquainted. I need not now point out how exactly the French character is in accordance with a deficient Concentrativeness, according to the views which I have before adduced upon that organ. Indeed, the want of constancy in the pursuits of the French, is greater than I had conceived, and is shown in the most familiar, as well as the most important, objects. Customs that with us, when once set in, end only with the generation, and frequently not then, with the French, endure for three or four years, and then become distasteful. No one musical instrument is in vogue above two or three years at a time, when it gives place to another, and then, as a further refinement in change, instrumental music is at a discount, and nothing but singing can be endured. Thus they ring changes upon the piano, harp, guitar, &c., whilst with us the piano has long been universal in the drawing-room, and seems to become a greater and still greater favourite. In France, as was remarked to me by a very intelligent native, few or no public works, requiring time for their completion, are finished by the constant and unwearying attention of individual companies. When such a work is entered upon, the company gets tired of the undertaking, and it falls to the lot of the government to complete it. The stupendous undertakings in daily progress amongst ourselves shew the national difference in this respect. Judging from the towns I visited, I fear the state of phrenological knowledge in the provinces of France is not very encouraging. At Nantes, a fine town of, perhaps, 80,000 inhabitants, on enquiring for the phrenologists, I was directed to a young surgeon as the only person who knew any thing about it; and I found that although he had written some articles defending the principles of the science, he had by no means made phrenology a study. The temperament and comparative development of the people of Nantes appear to me to be good; but the head is considerably smaller than the English, with many instances of remarkably small ones, such as are very rarely met with in England. I happened to corroborate this in buying a hat. My own head

is barely of average size in England, yet at the first shop I entered at Nantes, there was no hat large enough for me, and at the second I chose the largest. On my asking the hatter if he found any difference in the size of the English and French head, he said that the heads of the English were generally very large; and putting his fists together, he added that at Nantes they sometimes had heads no bigger than that. It frequently struck me that the female head, relatively with the male, is larger and better developed among the French than with us; but I have not sufficient confidence in my observations on this point to say that it positively is so,

IV. Case of Religious Melancholy, with Disease in the Organ of Veneration. (Extracted from a Letter, addressed to Dr. W. A. F. BROWNE, by Dr. J. H. BALFOUR.)

"A CASE Occurred here [Edinburgh] a few days ago [Feb. 1840] which I think will be interesting to you in a phrenological point of view, and therefore I sit down to give you a short notice of it. A man employed in a druggist's shop (Pugh and Plew's) laboured under religious melancholy for many months, if not years, and attempted to poison himself some time ago by laudanum. In this he failed; but being still intent on self-destruction, he at length succeeded by swallowing about an ounce and a half of strong sulphuric acid. He lingered in great agony in the Infirmary for four hours. ** The point, however, to which I wish to direct your notice, is the state of the brain. The organ of Veneration in one hemisphere (the right, I think,) had obviously been for some time in a state of chronic inflammation. The membrane covering it was opaque and much thickened, and there was a sort of hollow over it, the convolution being flattened. The circumstance was particularly pointed out to me by Dr. John Reid, who examined carefully the position of the disease as well as of the organ." *

"Speaking of phrenology, I should have told you that while many of the natural-history periodicals were thrown out by the Medical Society the other day, on the ground of economy, the Phrenological Journal was retained.”

V. Case confirmatory of the Site of Alimentiveness. Communicated by Mr. CHARLES MEYMOTT.

A SHORT time since, whilst on a visit at Mr. W—'s, I had a good opportunity of making some observations on a case confirmatory of Dr. Hoppe's opinion of the organ of Alimentiveness. It is that of a child eleven months old, who has a remarkable fulness of the head in front of the ear, at the place which, on the phrenological busts, is marked with a cross; the child's head being broader at that point than at any other, notwithstanding that Destructiveness is largely developed. I was first led to look at the child's head in consequence of observing the great avidity with which it devoured (eat is too mild a term) its food. Most young children in health eat as though they were hungry: this child was ravenous. Directly its food was brought into the room, it almost jumped out of its little chair, with both arms on the stretch, and eyes glistening with anticipated luxury. It would burst into a passionate flood of tears between each spoonful because you could not feed it fast enough, and then mumble with delight as the hot poultice was crammed between its little red lips, which all the while ran saliva. This was an every-day scene, not a casual occurrence, nor was it a consequence of previous abstemiousness, for it was fed very frequently during the day. There was no spurning one sort of food in preference to another, as is the case with many children, no fastidiousness, no partiality. Every thing that was eatable or drinkable went down with the same gusto. I had occasion to give it a dose of rhubarb, and, as I had anticipated, it cried for more.

VI. On some peculiar Manifestations supposed to be connected with comparative Deficiency of Eventuality. Communicated by Mr. CHARLES MEYMOTT.

me.

ON entering an engraver's shop, about a month since, I encountered an individual whose face and person were familiar to We shook hands, and a few common-place observations passed between us. He being about my own age, well dressed, and evidently wishing, or expecting, a recognition, together with my perfect remembrance of his person, led me to suppose